I love it! "Just Tell Them" put a picture of three Algebra Tiles on the cover of their book! I agree, if you "just tell them" that the red bar is -x, then they will figure out that this picture represents -3x. Perfect!

I'm still left wondering, though, how this related to Common Core standards. It looks to me like the teacher started with the unit they were teaching and created a list based on that. Not that they started with CCSSM standards and picked the ones that applied.

Anna,
Thanks for sharing! I think this looks wonderful, and I can see how it would be helpful to both teachers and students. The skills and concepts students need to master are clearly laid out.

Hi, Anna. I'm looking at high school. I have no trouble simplifying the language (that language is too tricky for _me_ until I read it over 3 times!), I'm curious about the structure and style. So, you add more details when you asses? What does that look like?

I've been looking at Systems Thinking this weekend ...
www.designorate.com/system-think...
"1- Today’s problems come from yesterday’s solutions. Before adopting any new solutions, understand the history of the existing problem.
7- Cause and effect are not closely related in time and space."

Thanks for getting us started!
I'm Debbie Seidell, and I'm a high school math coach in Revere, MA.
Breakfast: oatmeal, steel-cut, with cinnamon, raisins, walnuts and pepitas
Burning question: how do we get the school to stop thinking about quick fixes and look for real, slow, lasting change?

But the caveat is this: the teachers who chose to teach the untracked classes got extra training, and they used inquiry-based methods. That's also the problem with the Railside study. When a study mixes detracking with inquiry learning and better teacher training, can you conclude detracking works?

It's a limited case, though. Most of the students were on grade level, and a small number of low-scoring students were added to their classes. That's not always the case -- in a situation where the center of the class is below grade level, the teacher will probably slow everyone down ...

Here's another study -- just came out -- it has support for a limited form of detracting. They tried getting rid of the two remedial 9th grade classes at some San Francisco schools, with positive results. But they kept the honors tracks separate. hechingerreport.org/proof-points...

Would love to find out what you discover. I was looking for studies that showed detracking is academically beneficial for all students, and I could only find Boaler's Railside study, and the Rockville Center study. Studies about social and emotional benefits of detracking were easier to find.